Transmission Slipping - Automatic Transmission Slips

Transmission Slipping - Automatic Transmission Slips

Should you find your transmission slipping, don't despair. A transmission that slips doesn't
always mean that your transmission is on its last leg. There are a few things to try before
automatically forking over the money to buy a new transmission. First of all, check your transmission fluid.
The color of clean transmission fluid is red in color. A brownish fluid color indicates that
the transmission fluid has outlived its useful life and needs to be changed promptly. To fully
exchange the fluid in your transmission, you will need to have your transmission fluid flushed.
When you empty the fluid from the transmission pan, you still have fluid in the torque converter
and transmission cooler lines. This fluid can only be removed by a flush. You could technically
keep draining the pan every few weeks and refilling with new transmission fluid, but you will
only be diluting the old fluid out. This is better if you can't afford the cost of a flush all
at once, but is only advisable on transmission pans that have a drain plug built into the pan,
otherwise you will need to replace the transmission pan gasket every time. Regardless, if you change
the fluid you need to also replace the transmission filter. This is a pretty straight forward
process on most vehicles. Just make sure the fluid is warm, but not hot or you may burn
yourself. Usually just changing the transmission fluid alone won't keep your transmission
from slipping anymore. If some of your transmission seals are bad, you'll need to find an additive,
such as Lucas Transmission Fix, to help condition those seals and make them seal fluid once again.
If your vehicle calls for adjusting the bands when servicing the transmission, this may help with
your slipping problem. Make sure that your transmission cooler fins are clear of debris. Keeping
your transmission fluid as cool as possible helps prevent detrimental effects to your transmission.
Transmission fluid that gets too hot will cause the fluid to start to break down. Also make sure
that the fluid level in your transmission is at the correct level. Hopefully, some of these tips
will keep your transmission from slipping for some time.